The Oslo-listed firm, which raised $132m from its floatationin June 2011, has already chosen a bank to lead the charge for a separate stockexchange listing for the division, according to Upstream, TradeWinds’ sister oiland gas publication.
Hoegh wants to complete the exercise within nine to 12months, chief executive Sveinung Stohle told the Pareto Oil & Offshoreconference in Oslo today.
The company, which specialises in floating storage and regasification units (FSRU), has made inroads into the uncharted waters of the floatingliquefaction arena.
Most recently it secured contracts to carry out early stage engineeringstudies for near shore FLNG barges in North America and Asia.
However FLNG has yet to become a commercial reality and Hoegh LNG is just one of a number of companies jockeying for position in the industry.
Familiar names such as Golar LNG,Exmar and Excelerate Energy as well as various oil majors including, most notably, Shell, are also trying to gain a foothold.
Due to the complexity of the technology required to liquefy natural gas, FLNG projects are likely to be significantly more expensive to develop than FSRUs which could explain the move towards an IPO.
